1. Field
The disclosure relates to a method, apparatus and system to synchronize Bluetooth (BT) devices. Specifically, the disclosure relates to a method, apparatus and system to synchronize BT and low energy Bluetooth (BLE) devices using extraneous beacon signals.
2. Description of Related Art
Bluetooth low energy technology provides connectivity between BT mobile devices and a variety of Bluetooth systems, including, cars, exercise devices, computers, tablets and the like. The BLE technology supports a relatively low power consumption of the BT mobile devices. For example, a BT mobile device may be a small sensor, a watch, or a Smartphone having a battery with limited power supply and the BLE technology may enable the BT mobile device to communicate with the variety of systems using a relatively low power consumption.
With the emergence of applications around social networking, Internet of Things (IoT), wireless docking and the like, there is a need to design low power solutions that can be continually on. There is a growing need for an improved, low power service discovery mechanism using BT technology to advance Wi-Fi and other communication modes. Since most mobile devices have integrated BT and Wi-Fi (and/or WiGig), it is possible to design an efficient and scalable mechanism that uses BT and Wi-Fi (and/or cellular or WiGig) to significantly reduce device power consumption.
According to the BLE technology protocol, a first BT device (the BLE central device) and a second BT device (BLE peripheral device) may establish a connection there-between to enable data exchange. Exchanging data between the BLE central device and the BLE peripheral device at a relatively high rate may increase power consumption of each device and will rapidly deplete battery life.